Canadian Iron 226

Race:  Canadian Iron 226

Date:  September 5, 2009.

Location:  Terry Fox Athletic Facility– Ottawa, Ontario

Description:  3.85 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run

Sport:  Triathlon

Website:  http://somersault.ca/triathlons.htm

I arrived in Ottawa and finally checked into a hotel at 9:30pm (don’t ask). So pre-race preparation was not starting off so great.  I think I dozed off to sleep between 12-1am. Got up at 3:30 am, had two bottles of Life Brand’s version of Boost, and went back to bed. The final wake-up call came at 4:45 am; I had another bottle of the meal replacement drink, and made my preparations (lubing, dressing, etc.).

Got to the race site just before 5:30am and picked up my race kit (race day pick-up and registration is permitted). Actually, they were missing my numbered helmet sticker – only for the photographs anyway, and my timing chip. Both issues were resolved quickly and easily and I was on my way to prep for the race start. But I was thinking, with these things happening to me this early, what do I have in store for me the rest of the day?

The adventure begins in the water.

3.85 km Swim – 1:25:36    (2:13/km pace)

So what was with the swim time? I had huge issues with my goggles. After a few minutes, my goggles (left eye socket) started taking in water. I stopped several times re-adjust, but was not successful in resolving my problem. A lifeguard on a surfboard started following me after the first few stops so I swam over to him and asked if I could grab onto the board and try to get this problem solved once and for all. For some reason, I still could not get any suction on my left side. I figured I swam at IMLP with one eye open (due to a migraine) so I can do it again. I secured some good suction on my right side, jammed the left side in and went on my way.

I was now in last place (200-300m behind the main pack), and with a whole rescue team following my progress. I am sure they thought I could not swim and was just using my goggles as an excuse for my futility. Within moments though, they realized that I could swim, and they left me alone to attend to the other stragglers. I eventually started picking off swimmers and the lifeguard on the surfboard started cheering me on saying I was making great progress.

I touched the beach in 1:21, so with the time I lost I estimate I swim was 1:17 at worst. I’ve never felt better in the water – darn goggles. I stopped on the grass, stripped off my wetsuit there, put on some shoes and made the long run to T1 (4 minutes).

T1 – 3:32

I just got in and out ASAP. Not having to go into a change tent saves a lot of time.

180 km bike – 5:49:06    (30.9 km/hr avg)

The bike time includes a longish run with your bike from T1 out to the road (mostly on grass), so account for a little over 3 minutes of the bike time being due to that. My watch indicated I did the actual ride in 5:45. And that includes a 5-minute bathroom break where I had a scary burning pee. I never experienced that at a race before so I was shocked and it threw me for a bit. Once I got back on the bike, I realized the pain came from being in the aero position. This was the first race where I stayed in the aero position of 99% of the time. I only got up for 5-10 sec each lap to stretch out briefly or the shake out the leg.

The course is fairly flat (some slight inclines—nothing you need to go into the front small chainring for) but windy, so being aero was especially important. On each of the 12 laps, the wind conditions changed, but consistently got stronger as the day went on. I did the ride as planned (actual road time between 5:48 and 5:36), and while I was tempted to hammer I didn’t. It was a nice controlled aerobic ride (145 hr), I did want to push the last 2 laps a bit harder but I could feel that would induce cramping in my thighs so I dialed it back and got my nutrition in to set myself up for the run.

T2 – 8:45

Got to my rack only to find that someone decided to jam their stuff in where I was set up. So I wasted time shifting their crap over and then racking my bike. I re-organized my gear (packed it into my bag—didn’t want someone taking it home), changed into CW-X shorts for the run, lubed up the with copious amounts of Vaseline, got my Mizuno Nirvana’s on, and took another burning pee (I figured I’d check things out one more time, and resolved never to pee again for the rest of the day, it hurt way too much). It was very hot, and I could feel my sweat stinging the wetsuit burn on my neck. Good times. It felt pretty cool to be out on the run at 2 pm. This is new territory for me, I am usually still on the bike toiling away at this point. Off on the run for more fun.

42.2 km Run – 4:39:06    (6:37/km pace)

The run is 6 laps, and while the course is not lined with throngs of spectators like the a major Ironman event like Lake Placid, the people who are out there were cheering all day and since you passed them 12 times, they got to know your name, especially those working the aid stations (2 of them). My pre-race realistic expectation was 4:40, and my first two laps of the run made me think of aiming for a faster time but by the halfway point (2:19), my pre-race prognostication seemed fast enough as I was dealing with a down period during that 22-32 km portion of the run. The sun was beating down, I had to battle a breeze from the north, and blisters were beginning to take up residence at the bottom of my right instep and baby toe. I just kept repeating the word “patience” to myself, trying to minimize the slowdown; once I hit the last lap I let it fly. If I crashed and burned at this point I could still get a PB but maybe not as great. I was snorting like a horse the whole way, the spectators and volunteers realized I was on my last lap and gave me a nice last lap cheer and I busted it to the finish line to have my best Ironman run ever along with my new personal best time. I immediately drank a bottle of Vitamin water, 3 bottles of Gatorade, had some ART treatment, and a juicy burger. I was feeling pretty fresh. Maybe I should have run harder? Nah! I was happy with only going one minute slower than the first half. What I did know was that I was going to hold off urinating for as long as possible.

Total time: 12:06:03  – 14^th overall, 3^rd Men 40-44

* Ok, there were only 40 of us in the Irondistance event, but you can only race who shows up. A field this small has its charm. Since we were able to see each other many times in various stages of suffering, we were able to cheer and encourage each other along the way. It was very cool.

Final thoughts:

– I loved my experience. I will be back. I did not mind the 12 laps on the bike or the 6 laps on the run. I have trouble with pacing the Ironman distance and these multiple laps made it idiot proof for me. For the less than $300 entry fee (if you sign up early) I got the race, a nice jacket, finisher shirt, medal, post race hot food, and a breakfast banquet the next day. With the race being so small, at the breakfast, they actually call up every finisher to get their shirt, a picture, and an award if they earned one. A great community feel, adding to the super friendly feeling of the whole race experience. Not the same major rock star experience of the major Ironman events but still very cool in its own right. One day later, and a few aid station volunteers were still calling me by name and wishing me a safe trip home. Unbelievable!

– It was great to see some familiar faces out there from Team Running Free. Also having great races were Esther Tam (nice bike), Liz Maola, and Rob Shortis. I enjoyed suffering on that run with both Liz and Rob.

– I am not entirely sure how I feel about this but I quickly discovered that the use of personal listening devices on the run is tolerated in this series. They were everywhere. At first it ticked me off (made me wish I had my Adam Carolla podcast to listen to), especially when one lady was running right down the middle of the path listening to her tunes, but that was the only time it affected me, and I soon put it out of my mind and got on with my own race. This was the same for pacing and assistance. There were quite a few athletes with people running or biking alongside them or handing them stuff. This series allows outside assistance if the participant requires it (as long as it is not drafting or carrying the person). Yes, as I said earlier, things are a bit different out here. I got on board since we all have our own personal race/journey, no one was out here competing for money, Kona slots or World fame, and what someone else does has no effect on me running faster or slower. They still have to keep up with their pacer. If someone were to ride alongside me for any period of time during that run, I would have pushed them into the canal.

– There was lots of motorcycle presence on the bike (I counted 3), bike support from Peccos stationed at the middle of the course, and first aid help from members of the Canadian Ski Patrol riding their bikes on the bike and run courses.

– Once I got home, I discovered the cause of my goggles problem. The rubber gasket that surrounds the eye socket somehow came loose and not on the socket properly. I was basically trying to jam the raw piece of plastic right on my face. Lesson learned, this is now a new pre-race checklist item. So learn from me and check your goggles carefully before you enter the water.

– The times are what they are and I am happy with all segments. However, I am comforted in the fact that outside of my goggles mishap, nuances of the course and painful and lengthy bathroom breaks, I can go sub 12 hours. This something I never thought possible, but now I know I can even go faster with more structured work, and weigh 20 pounds less than I currently do. After IMLP I was not in the mood to do any long workouts (the Bracebridge Half was going to be my long one but we know what happened in that flatfest), so I did a lot of shorter more intense stuff (and nothing longer than 3 hrs), ending with the Cobourg race weekend, which aggravated my left calf. On race week just rested and recovered. One 3 km run, a 30 min swim, 30 min bike, and taught spinning for an hour (heart rate barely reaching 120). I am in my fourth week of taking a product called Acid Zapper, and I suppose it is working. I was faster, did less training, and I feel better recovered and less muscle soreness after workouts. I’ve never been able to walk down stairs this easily so soon after an Ironman. I could have actually gone for a run the next day if I was forced to. While I have the ability, I am not craving the need to ride or run anytime soon.

– This does not help my weight loss plans but I celebrated my finish 3 hours later with a Double Big Mac Meal. Mmmm, so bad but so good. I felt like eating 10 orders of fries on top of that. For all of her support and picture taking (the pics here are thanks to her), I treated my wife to a Southwest Chicken Meal. Yes, I am a big spender. Honestly, I wanted to go someplace nicer to show my thanks but she had a long day out there. She will cash in later don’t you worry.

– It no longer burns when I pee. I am sure you all wanted to know that.

Thanks for reading; maybe I will catch you at the Lakeside Triathlon Weekend or at the Scotia Waterfront Half Marathon (I am the 2 hour pacer).